Petersburg leans heavily Republican by roughly 36 points: about 32% of voters vote Democratic and 68% Republican.
About 72% of adults in Petersburg typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Petersburg, ~23% vote Democratic, ~49% Republican, and ~28% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Petersburg compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Petersburg leans more Republican than 50 of 60 neighbors.
Petersburg runs about 35 points more Republican than Wisconsin as a whole.
Why Petersburg leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Petersburg, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Petersburg, about 96% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 24 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 18% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 9 points below the Wisconsin average of 26%.
Walkability and Republican lean
Places with a low walkability score tend to lean Republican; Petersburg, WI sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Petersburg looks the way it does
Homeowners vote more often than renters. About 91% of households in Petersburg own their home, about 11 points above the Wisconsin average of 80%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Gays Mills, WI R+28
- Bell Center, WI R+25
- Seneca, WI R+29
- Mount Sterling, WI R+27
- Steuben, WI R+37
- Mount Zion, WI R+31
- Plugtown, WI R+37
- Lynxville, WI R+29
- Rolling Ground, WI R+25
Cities with Similar Populations
- Wyman, ME R+26
- Winona, MI R+19
- Wateree, SC D+32
- Wayne Center, IL D+10
- North Hughes, AR D+26
- Mount Carmel Junction, UT R+69
- Linwood, AL R+48
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Wisconsin Elections Commission, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.